Dance With Me
by Akari-Akahana
Summary: My big black dog was not barking when I walked through the door. I froze. I looked behind me only to be lunged at by a larger-than-life black wolf. Scary, right? You have no idea.
1. Chapter 1

Swinging bodies, rotating hips, sweet sweat, blasting music, slurring at the bar area, the hot sweet scent of a night club. Some of the hottest guys were around, not many were ugly. The lot of them were just cute. The sweet intoxication of dancing and the night club caught up with me and here I was, just dancing the night away with my friend Peter.

Peter of course is just my friend, not boyfriend as in a relationship. He's been my friend since... well... our freshman year in high school. He's a jock which others would find hard to believe that he was friends with me and hanging out with me. He was a little hesitant at first, but now in our senior year at Riverside High we don't care what others think of us. I never really cared in the first place, but I respected his choices.

Which reminds me, he was supposed to be dancing with me, but I have no idea now where he is. If I can't find him I'm in trouble. You see... I'm seventeen and he is eighteen and this bar is pretty special since you only have to be eighteen to get access and I kind of snuck in here so if I'm not near him so he can possibly bail me out, I'm screwed and I may end up that way too... literally!

Oh, I am careful believe me but when there are all these guys around it's hard not to end up dancing in front of them. To let you in on a little secret- I don't gyrate. Not yet anyway since there has never been a guy that I want to dance in that way with. Then when I look around all I see are girls and guys gyrating with each other.

Thinking I need to get away from them and find Peter, I maneuvered my way off the dance floor. Or at least I thought I was getting ready to step off until a firm grip on my upper arm and a jerk made me collide into a firm chest.

My heart was pounding by this point. I had absolutely no idea who this was and I knew it wasn't Peter because I just caught sight at him by the bar and no, they don't sell alcohol around here since you only have to be eighteen to get in. This town is kind of messed up, huh?

Okay so now if this was not Peter behind me, then who was it? I tried moving my head to look behind me and then tried to look up, but the person had but their head on top of mine, locking me with my head forward and some-what down. Plus the person had now moved both of his hands to my hips, keeping me pressed firmly into him.

Now you think I could somewhat move right? Wrong... his grip was secure. Oh, and the person was a male... trust me. I could tell because there was defiantly something bulging behind my backside when I was pulled into him.

"Dance with me." It hissed between clenched jaws.

As the beat to the song picked up, he began to gyrate into me. I was shocked. One, I did not know how to do this, two, this was a complete stranger, three... oh it felt so good. See why I was shocked now? He hissed again and tightened his grip on my hips, telling me to start moving. Me being scared, I did. Oh boy did I try my best. Apparently I was good as I heard him groan.

Okay, now this was getting sick. Quickly, I screamed and he let go. Then that is when I bolted to Peter. He saw me running toward him and he caught me and held me firmly in a tight grip. I felt hot tears start to build and flow out.

"Let's go." I mumbled into his chest. I felt him nod and he guided us to the exit.

When he dropped me off at my house I got my key and opened the front door. Once he saw I was in, he backed up and went back down the drive way. I had shut and locked the door, turning on the foyer light in the process. Before I turned around to go further in the house I froze.

My big black dog was not barking and he usually does when anyone comes into the house. I slowly turned around and there he was, sitting in the hallway and looking at me with those golden eyes of his. However, he wasn't alone. Standing next to him was a huge black wolf. It growled and I gasped, as it lunged toward me.

I was slammed back into the door as the larger-than-life wolf pinned me and then knocked me to the floor, growling and barring his fangs at me. I kept my head to my chest, not giving it access to my neck. By now my dog was finally whining. _'About time.'_ I thought.

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Okay... so read and review please? Otherwise I might not write more of this. Please review? Please! -puppy eyes- Suggestions are very helpful and I really would apperciate full reviews and not "Please update!" stuff like that.

Thanks for understanding,

Akari


	2. Chapter 2

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Recap:

_I was slammed back into the door as the larger-than-life wolf pinned me and then knocked me to the floor, growling and barring his fangs at me. I kept my head to my chest, not giving it access to my neck. By now my dog was finally whining._ 'About time.'_ I thought._

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I kept my neck down all right, but that didn't stop the wolf from still aiming for it. It kept lunging when it thought it had a chance, but I still tried to keep my neck from showing. My arms were pinned to the ground by massive black paws with enough pressure that it would bruise and the same goes for my legs too. At this point I wonder how it could keep balance, but apparently it did.

Now, I remember reading about wolves and about how they lived in packs and the different social ranks. So I like wolves and I've been reading about them and have stuffed animals like my gray wolf I got from the Smithsonian Museum in Washington D.C. and because of this I knew very well why I was being treated like this.

It still didn't explain how the wolf got in, why it was so large, and why my dog had completely backed down. Yet I was brought out of my thoughts when the creature had started digging its claws deeper into my arms and legs.

I growled my own little growl at the beast and it was a mistake. It took it as a challenge and bit my shoulder. It hurt, I could feel the teeth connected to strong jaw bones threaten to bite down harder and snap the bone. The damn animal wanted me to submit. I was a freaking human and yet usually wolves left humans alone. I did not have time to keep thinking because the pressure on my shoulder increased. I knew what I had to do and I did not like it.

Taking a deep yet shakily breath in –I relaxed and slowly tilted my head back, bearing my neck and closing my eyes. It seemed surprised for a brief moment that I had knew what it wanted since the growling stopped, but it resumed a second later. Taking its advantage it had over me, I felt the hot breath fly over my neck, making my skin crawl.

The next thing I knew it was gently biting down on my neck. Nipping if you will call it, in some cases, drawing bits of blood I could tell, before lapping it up with its tongue. Ewww! What the heck was this wolf's problem? I took this opportunity to open my eyes and see light blue eyes looking into my own. I seemed to hold the creatures gaze for a minute, gazing into those beautiful eyes until I finally looked away, knowing I couldn't keep the challenging stare.

The thing barked his happy approval of me submitting and got off of me only to sit by my side, facing me. I grunted as I brought the upper half of my body up. It hurt to do so. My arms felt weak and they shook as it held the weight of the upper half of my body up. Knowing my arms couldn't hold me up any longer, I spun around on the wood floor so that my back rested on the wall.

My arms rested to the side of me and my head was tilted back against the wall. I closed my eyes once my head softly came in contact with the wall, hoping it would level out the headache from it being smashed into the wooden floor.

My body was sore. I realized that before and more so now that I wasn't lying down. I looked back down at my arms that were bare since it was a warmer autumn day. On my arms were bruises, one on each side and little tiny pricks from the wolf's claws that had stopped bleeding.

After assessing my arms I looked down to my jean-covered legs. Well, you couldn't really see the bruising skin underneath the slightly torn fabric but I know I felt it. I scowled and lifted my head back up to glare at the black wolf sitting in front of me.

'_You S.O.B'_ I thought to the wolf, which of course was technically true. After mentally thinking that to the wolf, I managed to check the time on the grandfather clock in the foyer. It was already eleven o'clock at night. Peter and I didn't stay as long as I thought we did. I felt tired and worn out from the whole wolf thing and really wanted to go to bed. I sighed and looked toward the wolf that was still in front of me.

"Just what the heck am I supposed to do with you?" I asked the wolf anyway, knowing it didn't understand human speech, but hey… I was tired. Now the next thing, I don't know if I imagined it or if the wolf really did cock its head to the side as if it understood me. Deciding that yes, I was really tired, I slowly stood up, praying the wolf wouldn't attack me again. It didn't even move. I let out the breath I hadn't realized I was holding and slowly headed for the stairs.

As I began to walk up, I looked back to see the wolf still sitting there, but this time watching me go up the steps. I turned around and kept going up. I didn't even bother to look back for my dog Apollo, knowing he would probably go downstairs where his doggie bed was. See, I get this black puppy who was supposed to grow into the big dog he was now and expect him to be a guard dog and all he does is just lick you to death. The dumb dog didn't even help me against the wolf.

Speaking of wolf, it still hadn't followed me up the stairs now that I was already up them. I didn't look back and headed straight for the bathroom and grabbed my towel from the first part of the bathroom and walked into the area that had the toilet and shower/bathtub.

I hung the towel on the separate rack next to the shower and shut the door. I didn't bother to lock it sense the wolf being a wolf didn't have hands to turn the knob to open the door. I let out a small chuckle getting this funny image in my head of the wolf trying to open the door.

Anyway, I stripped down and got into the shower. The water was hot so I turned it down a little to warm until my skin adjusted to the temperature then pulled the knob back up again to as far as it could go on warm. I really liked hot showers and this one felt especially good since it helped relieve the sore muscle in my arms and thighs from the wolf attack.

Which reminds me… what am I going to do with it? I guess just leave it in my house? It obviously didn't want to leave since it hadn't bolted toward the door when I opened it. Plus all it did was watch me when I got up. Some strange wolf, you would think it would some other thing but an animal. More so… what was I going to tell my parents? Well, I didn't have to worry about telling them since they wouldn't be back until Monday and tonight is a Friday night which also meant I got to sleep in. Yay!

My content state was shattered as the water turned cold on me, signaling I had used up all the hot water. I quickly shut it off and stepped out of the shower, grabbing the towel on the rack and wrapping it around myself. If you looked up you could see the room was foggy from the hot shower. I opened the door and was greeted by a blast of cooler air. I forgot I hadn't brought pajamas in with me to change so there went the idea of dressing in a nice warm place.

There was no sign of the wolf so I quickly went into my room. On my bed was the big, bad, black wolf that was lying down on his stomach, his head on his paws… sleeping? I wanted to yell, but I had to get dressed and since it was –I guess it was sleeping- I had I good chance of sneaking by to get my clothes from the dresser.

I quietly tiptoed over and pulled out underwear, cotton purple pants and a tank top. Notice I didn't grab a bra? Well yeah… who would wear one when they were going to bed unless at a sleep over? Sure there was a wolf in the house but I didn't think it would just jump and tear my nipple off, seriously.

Okay… Now _that _made me laugh, but all that came out was a snicker because I didn't want to wake the wolf up. I made a beeline for the bathroom again and shut the door to get my pajamas on.

I walked back into my room and the wolf was still there. I was not going to sleep on the floor so I went over to the wolf and stopped a foot away from the bed. Was I crazy that I was going to try and push a larger-than-life wolf out of my bed? Probably, but I was already half asleep anyway. I was surprised the thing even fit on the bed anyway.

Taking a deep breath, I closed the foot gap and reached my hand out to the wolf. At the last second I stopped my assault and just lightly touched the wolf's head. It fur was soft and it was warm. I smiled and began to stroke its head, traveling down to its muzzle and then back up.

I stopped when I swore I felt it shiver. I lowered my head to look at the wolf when it suddenly lifted its head and hit my chin. "Owww…." I whined as felt the impact. I ended up biting my tongue which hurt, but I don't think my chin will bruise which was good since I had enough already from this wolf.

I looked back down at it to see it look curiously at me. "Well… get up I've got to go to bed and I am not sleeping on the floor, so you…. up… now!" I stated out and raised my voice at the end. Its jaws opened and a cough started and ended with a snort like some wolf laugh.

What the heck? Wait… a wolf looking like it had just laughed. Yep… I needed to go to bed. I was grateful when it jumped down and sat down at the foot of the bed.

I climbed into my now warm bed from the wolf's earlier residence and pulled the comforter over me. That was the only thing I had to use since I ended up kicking the other sheet off anyway. I put my head on the pillow before taking one last look at the wolf that was staring at me with its light blue eyes before closing my own.

I thought I was drowning into a nice peaceful bliss of sleep when I felt a heavy weight on me. I grunted to try to get whatever it was off of me but I ended up just giving up. I scooted over some on my bed and felt the weight settle behind me. It was warm, soft, and basically like a pillow. Well, I ended up scooting more so closer to it, my back seeking its warmth and once I was next the whatever the weight was then I was able to go to sleep warm and content.

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Okay, so I tried to make it longer. It's about 1,944 words this time and I don't separate every sentence like some people, well I don't try to, but I find it is slightly easier to read that way.

**Thank You's to the following People for Reviewing**:

sleepylittleme

htr17

smallvillechick92

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Also, thank you to those who've read my story, have added it to their favorites, and have requested alerts. Thank you all so much!

~Akari

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	3. Chapter 3

_BEEP-BEEP. BEEP-BEEP._ I groaned as the nasty sound of my alarm clock woke me up. Wasn't this supposed to be Saturday? An answering growl backed up my groan and I'm glad that it agreed with me as I lifted my arm up and an arm went passed my head above my shoulder to join my arm and turn off the alarm. I comprehended little though as I ended up hitting the 'sleep' button and brought my arm back down while the other hand attached to the arm moved the dial so that it 'clicked' off.

Then, just as that ended up clicking, my thoughts clicked together as that arm fell across my chest that was only covered by one layer of a cotton tank top. The warmth radiated from the arm as well as the body it was attached to. Then I literally froze as I realized that hand was just resting on my chest palm down and fingers spread apart just below my right breast since I was lying on my back. _What the hell?_

I moved my head to the left to be greeted by a black mass of short yet thick hair and a masculine face. I looked down to see a naked chest and then _felt_ the soft hair of masculine legs next to mine underneath the covers. Holy… _shit_.

I brought in oxygen for my lungs and tensed for a scream, knowing my dog would come running. It seems like the person –man- anticipated it and I felt the arm tense around me and I was ready to bleat out like a banshee when the other hand of his clamped over my mouth and he pressed his body weight on mine to probably try to keep me from going on a wild rampage out of fear.

Well, it made the scream disappear feeling the air being pushed out of my body. I looked up at the man-boy-no… I don't know what to call him. Guy? He looked nineteen. Oh man, he had the blue eyes, but they were darker than the wolf's, yet his black hair was the same as the wolf's. Oh dear… please don't tell me that this _guy_ and the wolf are the same person…

My gaze lingered on his eyes and then drifted down to his chest then to his slightly tone stomach that showed outlines of a six pack. I could only see this because when he lifted up to lay on top of me, he was still under the sheet and now that he had lifted up off me a bit I saw farther than… oh my… No!

I adverted my eyes quickly and looked back into those dark blue eyes. I was shocked and then quickly gained my wits back.

"Get off of me now!" I yelled at him.

He looked startled and scrambled out of the bed, taking the comforter with him. He just let it drop to the floor and I turned my head away to face the wall that my bed frame was placed against. My face was red, I was sure of it. It sure did feel hot.

"Okay… please… cover yourself." I tried to say, groaning miserably that I was going through this. This whole ordeal sucked. My arms and thighs were still sore from the previous attack by the wolf… hey. What happened to the wolf?

When this dawned on me, I quickly turned back around on my bed, sitting Indian style and faced him. "Just what the heck happened to the wolf?" I asked him accusingly. After the attack, I really started to like the wolf and I'm pretty sure it got in bed with me last night. That sounds so wrong, but then when I woke up that guy was there in my bed with me, not the wolf.

He just looked at me and shook his bed head which by the way looked really adorable on him. Oh no… this is not happening. I am not going to start drooling over some guy who just happens to be gorgeous and who had replaced the wolf that slept beside me last night. Wait a minute. I looked quizzically at him and stepped down off my bed, standing a few feet away from him.

"You aren't the wolf are you?" I asked him. I was more concerned about knowing what happened to the wolf than the reason why this guy was in my house that was previously in bed with me instead of the wolf like last night.

"Well… can you talk or what?" I asked him impatiently. Look, my alarm went off at six in the morning and I woke up to a guy in my bed that was and still is naked and I was attacked by a wolf last night. Give me a freaking break people!

"Yes, I can talk and yes. The wolf and I are the same." He spoke with a little Native American accent that sent me out to marvel about his voice. Don't ask me why, but I find them… appealing. It's just something I've never gotten over.

"Prove it." I said, getting over the tug to his voice that I felt.

He laughed and nodded. The next thing I knew, there was a four foot tall wolf in front of me still under the quilt-like comforter. It was the same one as the night before that attacked me and I backed away. However, knowing that I had touched his soft silky fur the previous night, I was curious and moved closer to him.

From his paws to the tip of his head he was three feet tall and I was five foot three inches. Basically his head went a little bit passed my hands. I should have known better not to ask him to prove it, but I was me and I just had to ask him. It amazed me though now that I had the proof that he really was a… werewolf?

I smiled faintly and raised my head to stroke his head. He looked at me curiously before he closed his eyes as my fingers scratched behind his ears. He had leaned into my touch and I let out a tiny laugh and his ears perked up at that. I then decided to sit down in front of him. I had to look up to look him in the eyes and then I looked away again.

I then turned and stood up, going into my parents' room and into my dad's closet. The guy gad looked to be about six feet and that was how tall my dad was. I dug out a pair of blue jeans and turned around to go back to my bedroom to see that the guy had followed me as a wolf.

I went into my parents' bathroom that was connected to the master bedroom and set the jeans on the bench my mom used to put on her makeup on. Then I turned around to look at the wolf since he had followed me in.

"Okay…" I started out, addressing the wolf/guy. "Change back to your human self and put the jeans on. They should fit you since you're probably six feet tall like my dad. Then come out and I'll be ready with a shirt to hand you."

I didn't wait for him to respond –well he couldn't- he was still a wolf and shut the door. I ran to my room in searched my pajama drawer. In there I had some shirts I took from my dad that were huge on me, but maybe they would fit him. I took a black cotton shirt out that my dad had gotten at some lodge. It had a picture of a wolf on it. _'How ironic.'_ I thought.

I was walking back down the hallway to my parents' room to find him walking down the hallway too. "Oh… here." I said as I handed him the shirt. He held it out and gave me this look and I just sighed and walked back to my room.

"It's the only one I had that might look like it'll fit you."

"It does fit."

I stopped from pushing my long grown-out bangs from my face as I heard him speak again. I have got to stop being lured to his voice. I groaned and went to my closet. I got out my lime green dance recital shirt I had from last year. It had the name of the dance company on it in a star in the front and then in the back it had the theme "Welcome to the Jungle" on the back with a few rainforest animals on it.

From there I drew out a pair of darker denim jeans I kept on the top shelf and then threw the shirt and jeans on the bed headed to my dresser again. Before I opened it though, I turned to look at him.

"Do you mind stepping out for a moment? Thanks." I asked and then smiled at him as I shut the door and locked it. I turned back and grabbed out the bra I wore yesterday since it was still clean. I went back to my bed and got dressed; putting on deodorant I kept in my room with me. See, it is in my room since I am too lazy to walk into the bathroom with it in the school mornings.

I walked out of my room after putting on socks and went into the bathroom, only glancing at the guy. _'You know, I really need to find out what his name is.'_ I thought to myself as I brushed my teeth.

After I was done, I took my brush from my drawer and brushed my straight, thick, dark brown hair with the grown out blonde highlights from about two or three summers ago. My hair had grown out past my shoulders about three inches since the last haircut I had. However, my hair was so thick so keeping it somewhat short made it easier to maintain.

I took a clip from my drawer that was brown and had a butterfly on it. I clipped it to my shirt first as I put my hair in a law ponytail without a holder and then lifted it up. I held it up with my left him and clipped it with the right. The hair coming over the top of the clip went to the left and right and then a few short strands stuck up. I thought it looked cute, so I left it.

I walked out of the bathroom and to my room again, only to see the guy sitting on my bed looking at my sketchbook that contained horrible sketches and drawings. I groaned and sat on my sister's bed that was against the side wall to my room. She and my other two brothers were both with my parents on a trip to visit my grandma in Pennsylvania. I didn't go since I had tests to study for over this weekend and I groaned as I realized I still had to study.

The guy had only glanced at me once for groaning about him looking at the sketchbook and that was it. Okay, that does it! I need to know his name!

"Hey, what is your name?" I asked, getting his attention first before I asked his name.

"Luke, and yours?"

"Keira."

"Pleased to meet you Keira."

"Likewise… wait. No, not likewise. What are you doing in my house and why did you attack me last night and why the hell where you in my bed naked this morning?"

I started off with a debating note and I felt my voice rise as I started practically yelling at him getting frustrated that I had to go through all of this. I shouldn't be taking this out on him, but the dude- Luke- was in my house and not in the wolf form I originally let him come into my house with.

"You can sketch somewhat well. Your horses need work. You did well though on this picture of a wolf."

Oh no, nu-uh, he was _not_ going to change the subject and avoid my questions.

"Give me that and answer my questions!"

I told him, getting off of my sister's bed and snatching the book from him to place it on the wooden table next to my bed. I leaned against the surface with my hands grabbing the edge to support myself on it and watch him. Waiting for an answer or more so; answers.

He looked at me and grinned this smile that sent my mind free until I brought it back and frowned.

"_Fine_. I'll tell you, but be warned… you just may not like it."

Great… just great. This was already starting to be a long and hard day after all since waking up at six in the morning.

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Okay! I hope you liked this! Let me know if suddenly when you're reading this story seems to get boring. I need to know because then I can make it more interesting, but things will get really interesting in the next chapter, so maybe you can just old on? Hehe. I'm thankful with all the reviews and alerts and last but not least, the reviews! Thank you all so much!

**Thank You's for Reviews to...**

Reviewers **since** Ch. 1

_sleepylittleme_

_htr17_

_smallvillechick92_

Reviewers of Ch.2

_XxAngry-Evil-PoptartsxX_

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Also, thank you to those who've read my story, have added it to their favorites, and have requested alerts. Thank you all so much!

**Q&A Time**

**Q: **Are the dog and the wolf the same?

**A: **Nope, they are not. Hopefully this was understood from this chapter.

((If I missed any questions, please let me know.))

I think that's it for now! Thanks again!

~Akari

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	4. Chapter 4

"You are a shape-shifter." He told me, looking me in the eyes.

I felt my jaw drop and after I gained my composure, I closed my eye and shook my head.

"Aw hell no." I said, looking back up to him and now standing with my arms crossed.

"Look, rather or not you believe it, it _is_ true and you cannot go back to thinking that no other creature besides humans exist."

I started at him, eyes narrowing, challenging him to prove it. He seemed to get this and let out a frustrated growl. Oh my, it _was_ a growl.

"You saw the wolf last night and you saw me this morning. Is that proof enough?"

"I guess… but you cannot prove that I am a shape-shifter."

My eyes burned with the urge to be so defiant to him, denying. I could not be a shape-shifter.

"You're right; I can't prove it… yet."

I was going to say 'ha', but he just had to through the 'yet' in there now didn't he? Gosh, why did I have to have a psychopath in my room? Wait, what am I even doing letting him stay in here and chat with me? I looked to him and my eyes narrowed.

"Now what?" I asked him harshly, knowing that something was going to happen.

"Now I have to take you with me to the Lycan courts and introduce their newest addition to the pack."

"What…"

"… The hell?"

Jake asked Luke as he was given the signal to knock the girl out. Jake caught her of course before she fell to the ground and held her braid-style in his arms. He looked from the girl's knocked out form to Luke.

"Well now, I guess I put her in the car and we take her back to the court house?"

"Yes" responded Luke.

Jake looked to Luke once more and nodded, taking the girl with him out of the house and placing her into a car. The plan was to take her to the court building itself, but the court house was where the members of the Lycan council lived with their mates and some of their youngest children. The only reason why she was going to the court house instead of a regular house like the rest of the pack members was due to the mere fact that she wasn't a Lycan, but a shape-shifter.

Shape-shifters were special to any other race, but the only races left that were not extinct were the Lycans, the handful of shape-shifters that were left, and last but neat least- the Vampires. Each race had their own leaders for each.

Sighing, Jake took the girl to the room that the girl was assigned to stay at, for now at least. Carefully, he placed her on top of the bed, using a quilt at the foot of the bed to cover her up. At the view of the girl laying there he smiled slightly, brushing a few strands of her hair out of her face.

"_Cuidate__."_

He whispered to her before heading back to the door and shutting it behind him with a soft click. He did not bother to lock the door and he was not told to do so either way.

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"Ugh… the he- ow!"

I groaned, not liking the dull ache at the back of my head. Trying to lift it to get up made the ache not so much of a dull one anymore. About five minutes later, I sighed and knew I had to manage the pain or else I would be stuck here helpless and I really did not like that idea. Wait… where was 'here'? I looked around, not liking my surroundings one bit.

One, I was not in my room or on my bed, two… how did I get here, three… I'll think of others later and along the question of how I got here. I got off the bed and stood up, but having the clutch the headboard to steady the dizziness and rush of blood, not to mention the ache coming from my head.

Once I was sure I was steady I looked down at myself. I was wearing my jeans, my lime green shirt, and my white ankle socks. I patted my head, feeling that the clip had been removed and that my hair was resting around my shoulders with a slight wave and the look of body it took on. I still had my clothes on from yesterday, ok… I could live with this.

I looked up, seeing freedom not too far away from me. The door. The sweet door to freedom! Forgetting my earlier dizziness, I made my way to the door. The handle was old fashioned, but I paid hardly any detail as I pulled it down, opening the door and looking out. A long hallway. A freaking hallway, you've got to be kidding me.

Nevertheless, I ventured out and took the grand staircase down that was located five doors down from me. The staircase led to the hallway to what looked like the main entrance to the place. I ventured forward, smelling this oh so delicious food cooking. It smelled like pancakes with sausage, eggs, toast, and heaven for a hungry stomach!

I peeked around the corner, seeing a kitchen with a huge island that had three swinging chairs on each side and one at the end closest to the entry way I was currently peeking through, the other end looked like it was used to place random things and use the provided space. The stove was closest to that spare side and a tall woman was standing in front of it with an apron on and cooking the earlier smelt food. My mouth was watering at the delicious food.

"Ain't worth it just'a standin' 'ere, come out and eat."

I jumped as I heard this and it sounded feminine, but the four out of seven filled chairs were all males. I gulped, wondering how the women at the stove, without turning around knew I was there. I heard snickering from the men and frowned. Yet, I was hungry and so I ventured forth into the kitchen with all pairs of eyes on me, except the ones from the woman at the stove.

"Um… you're not going to hurt me or anything are you?"

This got a full blast of laughter. Honestly, I don't get how it was so funny considering I was brought here against my will and had no idea why I was here for or where I was.

"Y'all hush them mouths or they ain't gonna get fed, you 'ear me, boys?"

The women said in a southern accent. It had just been brought to my attention that this woman was of African American decent. However, her voice was smooth like butter and yet sharp as a knife. At least it got everyone to shut up. I would have to remember that.

"Well come 'ere child and let me fix you a plate."

I obeyed and went straight over the nice women. She was a plump lady that looked around her mid forties. Her hair was in a bun near her neck and her eyes warm chocolate, but when angered set in firm steel.

"'Ere now, eat up."

She said with a smile, handing me the plate she had fixed with scrambled eggs, two pancakes, two sausages, and one piece of toast. It looked so good. I beamed up a smile at her as a thank you and went the island, taking a seat next to the end chair and the opposite side of the floor area that led to the stove. There was absolutely no way I was sitting close to them.

On my side, only one boy sat and there was a chair in between him and me. He had short brown hair and brown eyes. He looked nineteen. Later I found out his name was John and he was twenty. He was slightly bigger built than the others. He looked like he could be a football player, but didn't have the protruding belly that some did.

The three guys on the other side looked like triplets. Yet, you could really tell they varied in age. They each had dirty blonde colored hair and light brown eyes. The moment I looked at them from across the island while eating my food they had to introduce themselves. The youngest was Brandon who was thirteen and the second oldest was fifteen and his name was Wyatt. The oldest out of all of them was Anthony who was eighteen and seemed to have the dark jeans and hoodie idea down.

His youngest brother wore the cotton t-shirts and jeans while Wyatt had the jeans and a polo shirt theme going on. They seemed like respectable brothers, but I was sure the youngest two had their shares of fights while Anthony tries to stay out I'm sure since he was reluctant to introduce himself.

John was quite, but so was I. They already seemed to know about me which was really weird. They knew I was seventeen, they knew my name was Keira, and they knew I was a shape-shifter. After I was done with my plate and full from the good food, I thanked her and found out her name was Layla.

I had gotten permission to roam outside as long as one of the older kids, basically anyone older than me or my own age would come with me. John had left earlier and that only left Anthony. It took me a while, but I got him to come with me and we ventured out to the deck that was attached to the kitchen and went down the wooden steps to the covered pool and out the surrounding fence to the woods behind it.

Anthony seemed relived at the openness of the grassy area. However, as I made my way to the woods, I was stopped by him grabbing my wrist and yanking me back.

"Don't you ever go into the woods without someone's permission that is older than yourself and part of hierarchy so they know where you are and you do not have permission from me, so you are not going into those woods."

He told me sternly, warning me with a sharp tone that shocked me.

"Why can't I go into the woods?"

I asked after taking a slightly defensive tenseness about my form.

"I just told you so!"

He spat out at me. You know what, let me rephrase that.

"No S. Sherlock. I mean why can't I get permission from you? You seem important enough."

I asked, knowing I was probably pushing some things. I was right too when I heard him growl.

"Fine, go into those woods and see where that gets you."

He yelled, turning around and going back into the house. I smirked, knowing I had won, but part of me was worried now about why he did not want me in the woods and why I had to have permission to go in them. Either way, I decided to venture in. I managed to borrow a pair of tennis shoes from Layla that seemed to fit me since I was not going outside with just socks on and getting them all dirty.

The soft crunching of the foliage beneath my feet sounded so nice to me and the smell of the forest cleared my head, the soft cool breeze waking me up into a comforting free state. Slowly, I began to wonder what it would be like to be a wolf in this forest.

I thought of all the smells of the forest. There was the scent of evergreens, the smell of soil, and the soft smell of rain. Then the wolf with piercing brown-gold eyes and dark brown, almost black fur running through it, feeling the soft or firm terrain below by the way it reacts under its claws. Smiling, I starting running and felt the wind brushing through my hair, my freedom ever so granted and the pride at which I was happy to be me.

The next thing I knew I was running on four legs as a wolf, my snout being visible and the color of it black. I stopped abruptly, seeing fur on my front legs and feeling my tail rise as the pride from before still consumed me. I felt regal and elegant, strong, and free, yet I was a wolf and completely okay with it.

That is until I heard the howls of others and the merging, overwhelming new scents I was smelling getting closer to me. I could hear the sets of paws running and chasing my scent. Now I knew why I had to tell somebody why I was in the woods and have to gain permission. There was some sort of two borders marked by scent and a no-man's land marked between them and I was fair game to either side. I was in no-man's land.

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Thank you to all those who reviewed for all the chapters! Also, thanks to those for sticking with me and I know mid-terms have been long over and I haven't in posted in what… three months I think? I just want to thank you all so much and thank you for your understanding. Now, let me know what you think of this chapter please! You do that by reviewing!

Thanks again,

~Akari


	5. Chapter 5

Growls and barks were coming closer to me, I could hear them. It didn't help that I felt weak in this form and I had no idea why. My ears had gone down, my tail down, head low, and fur gently bristling. A whine escaped from my person, a plea for help. The kept taking over my thinking for a while until I saw five wolves come toward me from the border I passed.

There were two with a slightly cream white color; those seemed the smallest out of all of them. A black wolf with piercing blue eyes looked like it was one of the three larger wolves, it being surprisingly the smallest out of the three big ones. One wolf had a gray color for its fur and brown eyes; it seemed like the second biggest. The biggest one out of all five was a black wolf with honey brown eyes.

I was scared big time. Each of them was focused on something behind me. The biggest, black one stepped forward, tail high and growling that seemed to be directed at me. I made my way over, head low to stand behind the black wolf. Once I was behind him, I looked back to where he was looking at. A whimper escaped me.

Standing about a yard in front of him were four other wolves that all had a gray coat with gold eyes. The two biggest were flanked by the other smaller two. By their scents there were two males and two females. This brought me to notice there were about five males surrounding myself. The smallest two were the creams. The smallest was whimpering to me after looking directly at the gray wolf now to the right of the black one that came up to me first.

I looked toward the small cream, walking slowly towards it, getting the idea it wanted me to follow him. He yipped once and started running out the way they came. The larger cream saw I didn't move and nipped my tail, growling at me. The smaller one up ahead at stopped to look back at us. It took one more nip from the one behind me to get me sprinting toward the smaller one. As I caught up the smaller one it turned and kept running again. The one that had nipped me was by my side and every time I made a lead to the left to get away, it would nip me hard on whatever part it could get of me.

We burst through the clearing and I saw the familiar backyard and house. Once we were near the fence, I stopped, looking back toward the forest, panting. My tongue was out and jaws slightly open, seeing light plums of water vapor escape into the chilling autumn air. The other two that were with me didn't seem to mind that I stopped. Instead, the smaller one lay down in front of me, head on paws looking straight towards the woods.

The larger one on the other hand sat behind me as I myself lay down, but my sides were facing them, my head resting on my paws just in 'outer space', not really paying attention to anything. The next thing I knew the younger one had leaped up with a yip/bark type of thing and ran toward the emerging three wolves. I made to stand, but the other older cream had stood and took hold of my scruff, standing over me and preventing me from getting up from my laying position. I growled at him until he bit harder and got a whimper out of me. I was already still weak and did not have the strength, nor the energy to fend him off.

As the three larger ones approached, he let go and I stood. I was about the same height as him I noticed, but I felt so small as the other three approached me. The largest black one was ahead of the gray one on his right and the black wolf with blue eyes on his left.

The four wolves stood at positions that seemed to surround us in a ring. That is, surround my black wolf self and the largest black wolf with the honey brown eyes. This did not look good. I looked to the others, but they averted their gaze as I looked at them. My greatest hope seemed to be the smallest one. I made my way over to him, my tail just resting low in a comfortable position. I whined to him and he looked up, whining back, looking to the others that formed the border of the ring. The only one that helped him was the larger cream that ran for me and tackled me.

He growled at me and I growled back, snarling as I did so. Out of all of them he seemed to be the coldest one to me and I don't think I had done anything to hurt him. His teeth were bared at me once I had gotten him to roll off of me from the earlier tackle. I had gotten back up, facing him with my own teeth bared. I could tell my body language was fierce. My pelt had bristled, my ears were back, and my tail was threatening his position.

My legs shook from the fatigue that kept getting worse, but I held my ground. He was about to lunge at me again before the larger black wolf stepped in front of me with his tail high and teeth bared, and a tumbling low growl seeping through his chest. The cream snarled and went back to his position of the border.

The black wolf turned around and looked at me. He was about a foot taller than me and I was around four feet tall right now in this form. Our gazes meet and they held. I blinked, but I didn't look away. After a while, he began to growl as his tail raised as my own threatened his.

The next thing I knew he was on top of me, growling as fiercely as ever. My stomach was facing up and I was laying on my back, jaws opening and snapping at him even though he held me down. I kept protecting my neck. Wow… what such déjà vu this was. Except it wasn't that black wolf with the blue eyes. Wait a moment! I took a quick glance to the other black wolf. It was the same one that wanted me to submit earlier!

I looked back to the one on top of me and growled, back claws scraping his belly. He snarled, finally finding an opening to my neck. He took hold and bit down. I yipped-barked and struggled against him and it only made the pain worse. He bit down harder and I continued to whine. By the pitch of the whine, I could tell that the small cream was pleading. With whom, I did not know. Then I looked into the wolf's eyes on top of me and it hit me.

He wanted me to submit to him because he was the Alpha, he ruled over the pack and I was just a pup right now. I slowed my struggling and relaxed, brining my head to rest on the ground, my posture signaling I was defeated. I kept whining from the pain his jaws inflicted, scared for my life right now.

Then the pain was gone. I looked up at the wolf to see him looking down at me from his standing position over my body. His eyes sparked and his tail remained high. Slowly, he brought his head back down and covered the tip of my muzzle in his jaws, biting down until I whined and he let go. Then he stepped off of me and slowly I stood, my legs shaking. I would probably collapse any minute now. Soon he left my side and let the others come up to me. The small cream was licking my nose and nuzzling my neck. The other cream only came close enough to take in my scent and then heading back to the house.

The gray wolf nudged me with his nose and then he himself went back to the house, pulling the small cream with him, keeping hold of his scruff every time he made a move to run back to me. I wolf-grinned, and then looked to my right to see blue eyes staring at me. I jumped and brought my head up, completely taken by surprise. A small wolf-smile appeared on the wolf's features. He nudged me with his head against my shoulder and sniffed, burying his nose in the fur of my shoulder. Then he sneezed and I growled at him before he growled back and headed back to the house at a run.

"_Come on, let's go."_

I jumped and whipped my head around to my left side seeing the black wolf that made me submit next to me. It sounded like it came from him, but he couldn't have said it out loud. Was he thinking the conversation over to me?

"_Yes, now let's go. You can talk to me through your mind too. Once you submit to the leader of any pack, you receive a mind link with them and it's available to the rest of the members, but they have to accept you by themselves first. It may take time, but eventually they will open up and accept you as a member of the pack."_

Wow… well, there was my explanation. I looked over to him and my posture sagged. He looked over at me and tilted his head, tuned to my current state.

"_You okay?"_

"_Sure, just really… tired."_

I got out and grunted before I said 'tired'. He chuckled and shook his wolf head.

"_Try to make it to your room first. I had Wyatt and Layla setup a place on the floor for you since you'll probably fall right asleep in your wolf form once you hit the ground. Plus I doubt Layla would like it if you messed up the clean covers of the bed."_

"_Whatever, let's go, I'm tired."_

He chuckled as he led us up to the deck in wolf form. Once on the deck, he changed back into his human form and opened the door for me. He said something about me not having the strength nor the energy to turn back to my human self and was he right. I went straight to the grand staircase and made my way up, getting smirks from the boys and I snarled at them. It shut them up and they went back to whatever they were doing.

I made it to my room and found the door slightly open. I pushed it with my nose and went in, seeing the nice comfy sheets and pillows that had been set up for me on the floor. I staggered over and plopped down, my head resting on the pillow as I lay on my side, belly facing the door.

I smelt someone walk in and briefly opened my eyes to see Wyatt. I closed them and ignored him, thinking he would go away. I heard the door being shut, but not all the way and then smelt Wyatt sit near my head. Now I had his scent and face recognized anyway, so that only left the rest of them. I let out a breath and lifted my head to move it off the pillow.

I sensed Wyatt moving his hand to stroke my fur and I growled at him with my eyes shut. I sensed that he stopped and didn't growl. Then gently, he placed his hand on my head and began to stroke the soft fur. It felt good, so I let him pet me. I snorted at something that entered the room and I heard Wyatt laugh.

This upset me so I rolled so my back was facing him and I was facing the wall. His hand traveled to my neck and then my back, like he was petting a dog. It sounded awkward, but it felt good, soothing. I continued to let him pet me. I only growled once more as that scent of 'something' made its way closer to us. Wyatt chuckled quietly and then stopped to tell the person the leave. So that 'something' was a 'someone'.

Once I smelt the scent leave the room, I relaxed a little more than I had. I felt Wyatt's hand on my head and moving near the space between my eyes. I flinched at first, but relaxed as he 'shushed' and gently stroked the area around my closed eyes and underneath them. It was like he was doing that so my eyes stayed shut and I could go to sleep. I let him continue and then felt something tugging in my mind.

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**Hehe... I got the chapter up sooner than I thought! Review please and thanks to those who reviewed, faved, and requested alerts, and also for the C2 (I think it was?) add!**

**Thankies! XOXOXOXO**


	6. Chapter 6

At some time during the night I ended up waking up to someone next to me. I was still in my wolf form I could tell because it was dark in the room and no light was passing through the blinds, yet I could still see faintly. I tried to get up and ended up whining in frustration because my body wouldn't budge. I heard a hush from the area where my bed would have been and snarled at it but it only came out as a muted one. I heard nothing else, but I felt another fury body press up against mine. It was so tiny. For some reason I felt like I had to protect it and curled my body around it, wrapping my tail around it.

I must have fallen asleep because the next thing I knew I was shaken by somebody telling me to wake up. I did not feel well and I felt like being a bitch today. Technically I was since I was a wolf right now, I had an excuse. That hand came near me one more time and I snarled and bit it, only to receive a smack on the nose that hurt. I whined and finally opened my eyes to see Luke looking at me, holding his hand.

I wolf-smirked and he glared. That shut me up fast. Real fast, but I still smirked at him.

"Come on, change back."

Changing back sounded good, but I wasn't so sure I could. He must have seen my tilted head because he began to explain things a little better.

"Think about being human again and you will change back."

I snorted and growled at him. I wanted to see how far things would get. Power seemed to be radiating throughout my body, my tail rising as I stood up. He seemed to catch on that I was challenging him. He backed away slowly as I stalked over to him with fangs barred. I then caught him changing into his wolf form and snarled. In front of me now was the black wolf with those ice blue eyes that had attacked me back out my house. It was the same guy, same wolf, and we were alone in the room.

I snarled and he did as well. He knew as well as I that a fight was going to break out between us in our current forms. I made a move towards him, but he charged the same time I did right into my chest with his shoulder. It was a hard enough blow that it knocked the wind out of me, sending me to the ground, panting to try and regain my breath. But by that time it was too late, he had pinned me. Defeated already, I felt instincts kick in.

I relaxed body limp and barring my belly to him from underneath, my head tilted back. I was submitting to him. My pride had just plummeted, but not by much. He seemed satisfied and then returned the earlier wolf-grin. I was about to bring my head back up when he just collapsed on top of me. That too knocked the wind out of me as my head lurched forward and then rested back on the ground.

"_Dude… so not cool."_

I thought and then could only hear what seemed to be laughing from the wolf above me. Being still female, males were naturally meant to be bigger if they were to lead and then that leads on to being naturally heavier too. I mean, this guy was heavier laying on top of me and he was heavy- as in… I can't get up!

"_Are you going to listen to me now?"_

I heard in my head a few seconds later. It was Luke obviously talking to me. I snorted, which sort of failed since the weight on me was still heavy. However, I nodded my head the best I good in a 'yes'.

"_Good."_

I heard from him again and felt his weight lifting off my body. As soon as he was completely off of me I got up as well, taking time to stretch. I still stood, but I saw Luke sitting a couple of feet away from me and giving me some space.

"_Ok, ready to change back?"_

I only nodded my head in response, ready to change back to my human body, though the wolf form was nice too.

"_Listen and listen well. It's quite simple, but you need to concentrate. Think about being human, from your toes to your head. Just think about being _you_. That's all it takes to change back."_

"_Sounds simple enough."_

"_Just shut up and try it."_

"_Fine."_

The little conversation went on until I took a breath, thinking about my human self. Slowly as I concentrated I began to feel the shifting that would turn me back into my human self. Once done, I was standing. I glanced towards Luke only to see him grinning, panting, and wagging his tail. I lifted a brow to question him, but he ignored my eyes. I looked down at myself because he was staring at me only to realize that I was naked!

I shrieked and grabbed the sheets from the make-shift bed I was earlier sleeping on and did my best to cover myself up. I only had time to cover just the front of me when I noticed he was shifting back to his human body too. _He_ had pants on. What the heck? How come I didn't have clothes on?

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Ok, ok, I know it's been so long and you probably want to kill me right now. I'm so sorry! I know this chapter is shorter than the others, but I wanted to at least get something up for those who like the story. Also, the chapters may be shorter like this one from now on so that I should be able to update faster. I hope that's ok.

~Akari

P.S. Thank you so much to those who reviewed, added as favorites, etc… Especially those that reviewed.


	7. Chapter 7

_Laughing_. He was freaking laughing at me! That evil b- no Keira, don't say it. I was starting to get very agitated. I could feel my eye starting to get the idea to twitch like it would in those Japanese comic books (manga). I felt the urge to growl like I would in wolf form, but it only turned into a startled yelp when my naked backside pressed against the very chilly window.

I gasped because not only was the cold seeping through the window curtain on an autumn morning and torturing my poor naked backside, but I suddenly had flesh pressed against my front that was only covered with a sheet. I went to scream, but I was silenced as warm lips pressed over mine. What was going on?

Time freeze, please! Actually, my thoughts were swirling around a thousand miles-per-hour and I had time to get in a lot of analyzing. I kept my lips pressed together even though those warm lips seemed so inviting, but I resisted. My backside was freezing and my front was being molded with a warm, masculine body that was Luke. He had loose jeans on, but his upper half was bare and through the sheet I could feel his abs were solid. So _tempting_.

But then the assault stopped as a growl ripped through the room and the pressure on my body eased off. I stepped away from the covered window, making sure the sheet covered all around me this time. I looked up to see Luke's back a few feet in front of me. He glanced over his shoulder at me, a bit tense before shaking his head and leaving the room, shutting the door behind him. I was still starring back at the door until Layla showed up a minute later.

"'Ere now child, I brought you some clothes. I've 'gotta feelin' them things will fit you."

I shook my head, focusing on Layla as she took the clothes and placed them on the bed.

"Layla…" I started timidly.

"Yes child?"

"Um… is it possible for me to get a shower?"

"Oh yes! Come on, follow me."

I smiled slightly and went to the bed, gathering the clothes and following out the door- making sure the sheet was still around me. Layla was waiting beyond the door. I followed her to the bathroom, placing my clothes on the edge of the sink. It was a simple bathroom.

The shower was combined with a tub and white in color with silver handles. The sink was marble white with silver handles as well. The floor was white tile with light blue rugs around the toilet and a rug in front of the sink. Sighing, I turned, shut and locked the door, and turned back around, glancing at the rug only to be greeted by a black, almost too thin looking cat with bright auburn eyes.

"Well hello." I murmured to the thing. Cat really, but still.

Its only response was to flick it tail to the side. I grumbled. I had managed to get to like my wolf form and wolfs and dogs mixed and dogs didn't seem to like cats very much. Still, being a shape-shifter I guess I was on equal terms. Though, I didn't much feel like turning to a cat in that instance so I just shrugged and opened the door to let the cat out. All it did was look at me like I was stupid and jumped on the counter next to the sink and curled up against the wall, laying on the counter and underneath the cabinets.

I studied it for a minute, looking in those eyes. The eyes seemed almost to hold human curiosity. Oh hey now. I snickered. Curiosity killed the cat! _But satisfaction brought it back_, something nagged in my head. Grumbling, I dropped the sheet as the cat closed its eyes. Call me weird, but it did not seem right for a cat holding human curiosity to just lay there and watch me strip.

I turned the shower on, stepping in as the water warmed. I found shampoo and soap, figuring I'd rather be clean than stinking up no matter how infested the soap might be with guy germs. No wonder why women used the shower gel you could but on those fluffy things. Note to self: ask for some or nag them until they let me go shopping.

I took a good hour in the shower -glad the water didn't run cold- and stepped out. The mirrors were fogged, but the cat was nowhere to be found. I grabbed the towel I had placed on the toilet only to bed down to get it when I saw the eyes of that cat behind the toilet. I 'eeped' and grabbed the towel, putting it around me. I sighed since I knew I overreacted and glared at the cat. I don't know if it was me, but the cat seemed smug.

Fifteen minutes later I was dressed and ready to head out of the bathroom, glad for the fresh supplies of a toothbrush, paste, brush, and other necessities that seemed to be freshly stocked since my arrival. I looked into the bottom cabinet to the left of the sink to find it stocked with napkins (pads) and tampons (well… tampons)… you couldn't get anymore girl-prepared than that. Which reminded me I needed to check the calendar soon…

I opened the door to step out, only to have the cat attack my leg. A _very_ un-declawed cat that is. Being fed up with it, I yanked it from my leg and held it out in front of me, careful of the claws to study it. It growled this nasty little growl and made to swipe at my face- which I am happy to say I dodged. Glaring at it, I gripped it tighter.

"Now listen here, so far you're in a house filled with testosterone and only two women with the always given monthly gift. I suggest you straighten up because I'm the only one who might not be all dog-bound enough to keep you safe. Understood?"

The thing just hissed once before slouching. Call me crazy, but I kind of grew a liking to this cat- wherever it came from. I nodded in approval of its relaxed (defeated) form and let it down. I opened the door this time and it darted out, it's tail raised. I quickly looked out to see it head towards my room. _Whatever_.

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Oh my! You guys are AWESOME! I love you all so much! I'm sorry I don't update much, but sometimes the story seems to lose interest to me. I thank you all though for the reviews, favs, and alerts. I hope this chapter will be all right for you all, even if it's short.

P.S. It seemed like a good stopping point.


	8. Chapter 8

The fading smells of breakfast hit my nose and my stomach grumbled. I checked the clock above the side wall entrance to the dining room area. It was eight thirty in the morning and I was awake. Wow.

Sighing, I took a seat next to Anthony on the island table, not caring if he didn't like me or not. Don't get me wrong, the shower was refreshing, but I was still tired. I put my head on my hand, holding it up on the island. Anthony was quiet and for once I was glad, yet sad. Very odd…

I glanced around the area from the kitchen to the family open family room. No one was there. I glanced by the stove again to see Layla cooking some things. The area around the stove looked so warm and it was only then did I realize I was cold.

My dark fitting jeans Layla had gotten me this morning were nice to keep my legs warm, but sometimes the material could also get cold. Right now my legs seemed fine, it was my arms that seemed to chill and attain goose bumps. My short-sleeved red t-shirt wasn't doing the job of keeping me warm. I glanced over at Anthony with his black and red hoodie.

I grinned slightly. Warmth! But then I frowned, thinking that Anthony rather have me dead than to lend me his hoodie. Oh well, I have to try.

"Anthony…" I whispered for some odd reason I just felt like it. Half trying to annoy him and half not.

"What?" He asked as he looked over at me with a bored expression, yet clearly annoyed.

I grinned a fake, huge, smile as he looked over at me. Sickly sweet.

"Um… can I borrow your hoodie? I'm kind of cold here."

I expected him to say no and to say something along the lines of 'get your own', but what I did not expect was to see him take his hoodie off and hand it out to me.

Needless to say I was shocked for a bit before I took the clothing from him.

"Thanks" I mumbled to him.

If I was not mistaken, I think I saw a faint quirk of his lips on his bored and indifferent-looking face.

I took the hoodie and put it on. It was warm…. It felt _good_. The sleeves were a bit too long, but not by much. The torso of the hoodie fit me just fine, if not maybe only slightly too loose. The length sitting was a little passed my waist, but it did not matter.

Smiling, I put my arms on the island, putting my right cheek on them as my face faced towards Anthony and Layla. I closed my eyes briefly, being able to smell Anthony's scent on the hoodie. It smelled good, hard to tell what it was exactly, but as of now his scent- it smelled wonderful, comforting.

I took a few more deep breaths before lifting my head up to watch Layla. She moved her way over to me and handed Anthony a plate to pass to me. I thanked both of them and set out to eat with the provided fork. Eggs, bacon, and toast… yum.

I finished right before Anthony did, sipping down my apple juice as he stood. I watched him and he glanced over. He nodded his head towards the open archway that led to the dining room that was behind us. My eyebrows rose in my curiosity, but nevertheless I followed him, setting my cup down on the table and sneaking out with him before Layla noticed.

He made sure I was following him before heading upstairs. I followed of course and he led me to my room. I stopped in front of the door as he reached for the handle. By then I was between him and the door, my hand on his on the handle.

He seemed surprised at first before smirking and backing up, his hands in front of him in mock-surrender. I did not like this. Why would he lead me to my room when I knew where it was? He dropped his hands before crossing them and leaning against the wall of the hallway.

"What?" I asked him, wanting to know why he led me here and why he was just standing there.

"When are you going to explain the cat to us?"

I gasped, grabbing him and yanking him into my room, making sure the door was locked. I stood against my door as he sat on my made bed, eyeing the cat currently perched in the windowsill next to my bed.

"Don't tell anybody." I warned him.

So the cat was moody earlier, I still very much tended to like him already. Then something hit me.

"Hey! How did you know there was a cat in here?" I practically yelled at him, but toned it down so others –if they were around- did not hear.

He just laughed and leaned back on the bed, his arms propping him up.

"I saw him skirting across the hall to your room before you went to shut your door before going downstairs."

"Then how did you get down there before me?"

"Simple, when your back was turned I hurried up to get downstairs, duh."

Uh-huh, sure. Little spy. Oh well.

"Just please don't tell, please?" I was practically begging him as I moved toward the bed.

He grinned like he was going to tell anyway. I moved to hit him but instead he moved, his legs hitting mine as I lost balance and feel face-first on the bed next to his sitting form. He was laughing and not paying attention. I grinned like mad before I gripped his waist and pulled him down, not letting go.

"Hah!"

He growled before he glared at me while I was just smiling like an idiot. The cat- Jinx as I decided to call him (yes him… I checked) - took it at that moment to hiss and growl as he skirted from the window and onto the floor to hide underneath the dresser.

That had us both looking and watching him. Anthony and I glanced back at each other before I realized I was still holding onto his waist and slightly on top of him. Well, I quickly ended that as I scooted off the bed and to the window where earlier today I was pressed against. Not a pleasant thought.

He followed and stood behind me, looking out the window. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary that would scare Jinx.

"Stupid cat."

"I heard that… and his name is Jinx."

"You're naming him?"

"Yes, you got a problem with that?"

"Nope."

I grinned as I knew I won. I glanced under the dresser to see Jinx's auburn eyes stare right back. You know, I really think I'm going to like this cat. I straightened up as I saw Anthony at the door.

"Anthony… why are you nice to me all of the sudden?"

I could not help but to ask him and he seemed to pause as his back faced me and his hand reached for the door knob.

"Because… you're pack."

And that was it and he was out the door, shutting it behind him. Only then did Jinx come back out as I lay down on my bed, staring at the ceiling. I knew he was out because I felt him prodding the jacket and getting ready to settle down on my stomach. I was glad he was not that heavy now. I sighed, watching as his form raised and fell. I laid my own head back and closed by eyes, listening as a breeze swepped across the house.

* * *

Hehe, two updates one after the other. I know you all love me now. I just want to thank you all again so much for the reviews- this is a kind of 'thank you' present. Those are what really helped me get this update up. Also, this one is a bit longer than the other too. Thank you all so much!


	9. Chapter 9

I woke up to cool caresses on my cheek and I surprised myself by leaning into the touch and only then did I open my eyes to the darkness of my room. The curtains were drawn shut, the door closed, and the lights off. It was dark and I could not see clearly at first, actually even though my eyes were adjusting, I still could not make out much- only the pale light coming from underneath the door.

I gasped as I was suddenly awake enough to realize something was draped across my hoodie-clad stomach. I jerked away only to be stopped and pulled down, a weight settling on top of me.

"Shhh…."

A shush, a hiss, what? It sounded like a gentle reassuring sound, but I was startled my mouth about to open to scream until a hand covered my mouth and a cool cheek pressed against mine, a cooler nose pressing against the side of my neck. My heart was pounding, my body beginning to shake as the whole situation barreled down on me. I began to whimper until I felt that nose placed near mine, my eyes (which I did not realize I had closed) opened, but I could not see anything… just to feel and assume.

A sense started to make me believe that eyes were staring down into my own and studying me, but I still could not make them out. The mouth pressed against my cheek now and I could feel a smile, my skin was not used to the cool temperature of the bare skin against mine so I noticed the difference immediately.

The next thing I knew the hand and coolness were gone- replaced by the weight on my stomach and I could feel and hear the purring of Jinx. I sat up, Jinx shifting to sit up as I rested my back against the headboard of my bed. I was still trembling- trying to figure out if I was dreaming- trying to figure out reality from dream or wishful thinking.

Prodding was felt against my chest through the fabric of my shirt and Anthony's hoodie as I looked down. Jinx was pawing at me for attention and who was I to deny him that as his purrs calmed by shaking? My right hand came up to brush his head, his own bumping into my hand and thoroughly enjoying my attention. I giggled and pulled away, Jinx's cold nose pressed against my hand as if trying to delay the end of the attention.

A sighed and got up, making Jinx jump off my bed as I moved towards the door. Jinx however was making that difficult since he kept passing in between and rubbing around my legs. Somehow I managed to open the door and shut it behind me without stepping or letting him out.

I still did not know what time it was as I moved down towards the staircase and headed downstairs. I walked down slowly, my hand gliding over the railing. It sounded awfully quiet downstairs and I did not know if that was a good thing or not. I peeked around the kitchen to see Layla busy at the stove and moved toward the family area where two couches were set up in front of a TV.

Brandon and Wyatt were asleep on one couch (how they both fit on there I do not know) and Anthony was lounging in the other, taking up the whole couch- rather he was asleep or not I did not know since he did not have his arm wrapped around one of his brothers…. Well, odd way of putting it, but if you understand it then… yeah.

I smiled as I made my way over to the couch, Anthony's hoodie still keeping me warm. I moved to sit on the bottom portion of his legs, adjusting my weight so it would not hurt him. He still did not move. Maybe he was asleep, then again… I glanced towards Layla who was still in front of the stove. I looked back down at Anthony and adjusted my weight and position so my legs rested on top of his and carefully laid myself down on his chest, my arms reaching up past his head and to rest barely on the arm. He was either a heavy sleeper, out of it (really tired), or pretending.

I sighed and rested my cheek against his chest- facing the back of the couch and closed my eyes. He was warm and so was his hoodie- his scent reaching my nose and lulling me into an almost sleep again. I just laid there, resting my eyes and enjoying the warmth and… sense of security that seemed to seep into my being.

I must have drifted off for a few minutes since my ears finally heard things and my brain registered them, but my eyes did not open yet. I assessed my surroundings in a drowsy state, feeling warmth on my torso and up. A weight –arm I should start saying now- was rested against my back. I 'hmed' and my arms moved slightly or twitched from the place they found themselves in, rested on the couch cushions against his sides. Wait… _his_?

I lifted my head from his chest and looked at Anthony's face. His eyes were open and a small smile greeted my sight. I set my head back town and completely let my weight sag on him from being tense earlier when I discovered I was still laying on him- a sign of defeat, but from what he probably did not know. For some reason I was apparently tired today and felt really lazy… and warm.

I might be testing my limits with Anthony's new open personality, but so far things seemed to be all right. I shifted my weight again towards the back of the couch, slightly moving off of him and suddenly pushed against the back of the couch, moving Anthony's body almost off the couch… Until he caught himself and grabbed my waist, but he ended up rolling on the floor and I braced the fall with my feet as did he and we landed rather softly. However I was staring up at him, amazed the back of head did not hurt from the impact. That is, until I realized one of his hands was cradling it and another held him up and he was on his knees above my stretched out body.

Whoa.

"Uh… thanks."

It came out in one breath in slight relief I had not hurt myself.

"Yeah."

Was my response as he slowly took his hand from under my head and moved off of me. I still laid there until he stood over me and offered his hand to help me up. I grunted and reached up to take his hand. My legs pushed up as he pulled the rest up. The world spun for a bit as colorful rainbow pieces appeared when I closed my eyes from the pressure in my head. I took my hands and rubbed my eyes.

"What time is it?"

I had asked him and rubbed my eyes in the process, a yawn ended up breaking the sentence near the end. Once the world calmed down I ended up opening my eyes to see nothing in front of me. I glanced towards the stove at the other end of the rooms to see Layla still cooking. I must have not been out for that long then. Still, Anthony was now missing.

Something came up behind me and placed arms around my waist, a chin resting on my right shoulder.

"Anthony?"

I questioned, a bit shocked before turning my head to see him. His eyes were closed, but he pushed his nose under my chin, lifting my head a bit. Whatever he was doing did not really fit Anthony as I knew him so far. Warmth of a large hand flatted itself against the bare skin of my stomach and my breath caught in my throat. From what I could get a glance of since my head was tilted up, his hand had obviously snuck under his hoodie and the fabric of my shirt.

"_Anthony!_"

I hissed in a whisper this time when his hand moved further up to just below the wire of my bra. A low, suggestive growl answered me this time as his right arm that was around my waist tightened, pulling my back flush against his chest. What was happening?

Besides panic taking over, warmth shot through my body at his actions. I whimpered and the growling stopped. Suddenly I felt him grow tense behind me. He backed up and that is when I heard footsteps entering the kitchen.

Layla had apparently left from the last time I saw her since she was now moving towards us with Jake, John, Luke, and Wyatt now leading Brandon downstairs to what I assumed was a half-finished basement perhaps. Uh-oh… this did not look good. I wanted to grab Anthony's hand and hold him close, but I could not as Layla stepped forward and took my hand, leading me away and to my room.

We stopped outside of my door.

"Child, I'll bring 'yer dinner later, now, but please child stay in 'yer room."

I simply nodded as she left and quickly went inside, seeing Jinx on the bed. I pushed the door closed and staggered to the bed, laying my head on the pillow I clutched onto, my stomach growing cold against the previously un-used fabric before slowly warming. I was worried and tired, not feeling well. I heard Jinx begin to purr as he nudged my hand with his head. I began to stroke his soft furry head, hearing only muffled yells from downstairs.

* * *

Thank you all so much for all the reviews and hits even if it takes a while to get these chapters up. I'm in an honors/advanced placement English class this year so that sometimes takes my writing creativity away and I get writer's block. Also, to see if you all read these notes too, I have a question for you that if you don't answer it in your reviews, then you lose out. I need at least.... **7 reviews with the answer** in them.

**Question: As a little 'extra' in the story, should I do a short insert in Anthony's point of view for this chapter?**

**_Answer with 'YES', 'NO', and any little extra thing you would like to say._**

All comments/reviews are appreciated! Thank you!

P.S. I'm glad you all like the little devil, Jinx.


	10. Chapter 10

A tickling sensation was felt against my nose and I used my hand to rub it as my eyes opened. Jinx had apparently laid in front of me. Sighing, I moved away and sat up to turn on the light by my bed. Seeing a tray of food on the dresser, I knew Layla must have come in sometime. I checked the clock in the room and found it was eleven fifty at night. I was just going to go back to sleep, but then my stomach clenched from hunger and I went up to the try. I decided to stand and eat even if my eating pace was supper slow.

I had finished and I stretched, still having Anthony's hoodie. At his name, I stopped and turned my head towards the door. What happened with him after the… ordeal? I glanced towards Jinx and a plan began to form into my head. I was going to see Anthony… tonight- or well this morning since it was almost twelve. That's it, my mind was made up.

Carefully, I pictured myself as a black cat with soft fur and the likes. Soon, I was on all fours, a black tail with a white tip protruding from my behind. Currently, it was in an up position. I was mortified! It was at this point where Jinx hopped off the bed to stand beside me. Slowly, he began rubbing himself against me. I froze, my fur starting to bristle.

"Relax princess, I wondered when you were going to transform into a cat."

Oh wow uh… hello! My cat eyes (which could see much better in the dark) looked towards the sound of the voice. Jinx was talking? Holy crap!

"Uhmm… how can you talk to me and why the hell are you rubbing against me?" I asked him.

I got a chuckle in response until he stopped rubbing against me and looked at me.

"First off, when you shape shift into another animal, you develop the ability to understand them. If you transform into one form- say a wolf on a regular bases, then you can be a cat and still understand them, but they more than likely will not understand you."

Oh… but wait!

"How do you know I'm a shape shifter?"

"Not very bright are you?"

"Watch it…" I hissed dangerously low at him.

His tail flicked once in response- a bit ticked, but he seemed amused all the same.

"I just saw you transform from a human into a cat, duh."

"Oh yeah… sorry…"

And I was, but still he had not answered my other question yet.

"So why were you rubbing against me?"

Jinx only looked at me and from this whole speaking encounter, he seemed more human than cat or something more… human since apparently werewolves existed- if you get what I mean. He only did a cat-like shrug before jumping back on my bed.

"Lovely view by the way," he said as I moved towards the door.

I hissed. The bastard, I could not control my tail yet… so what?

I had opened the door before I changed, allowing my paw to open the door further inwards so I could slip out. My eyes were simply awesome like this since I could see so well. I just hoped Jinx stayed in the room.

I padded lightly through the hall way, sniffing, looking, and trying to locate Anthony's room throughout the house. Being a dog or wolf would have been better to sniff out the scent, but cats were stealthier.

I finally sensed that I was at Anthony's door and I pushed it open, glad it was not locked or closed all the way. Anthony was in his bed, apparently asleep, but not for long. I hopped onto the bed, walking over his legs and to his side where his head was facing, sitting now in front of his stomach. The covers were brought up over his shoulders. I studied his face.

He looked so peaceful that I totally had to re-think waking him up. Should I or shouldn't I? Deciding against it, I plopped down gracefully to the floor and made my way out the door and to my room. So much for waking him up and talking to him, but I did at least see him.

Jinx was waiting for me on my bed I had noticed after pushing my door shut with my head. I was not changing back yet since I kind of wanted to talk to Jinx. I jumped on my bed, moving over to Jinx and swatted at him once just because it looked so fun when cats did it. He returned it with his own paw and then I became serious.

"Alright so, time to talk…"

I had said that, now to just think of how to talk to him.

"Wait a minute, just stay there and trust me."

Huh? I looked up at him them since he was male and taller than me in my cat form. Nevertheless, I stayed there and watched. Jinx began to transform… into something… I KNEW it! Jinx was more than just a cat! He looked human now.

He smiled at me from his sitting position on the bed.

"Change back and then we can talk."

I didn't think (which I should have) and changed back to my human form to sit on the bed, I had closed my eyes during this to concentrate, but before I opened them, I heard Jinx talk again.

"Picture just as you were before you transformed- the clothes you were wearing per say."

So I did just that and then opened my eyes. I looked down and was amazed to find that I was clothed this time. So that is what I had to do then. The whole situation with Luke could have been avoided.

"Thanks, but who are you and what are you?"

So I ended up asking a bit harsh, but whatever.

* * *

So... this story is basically in slow progress, but I do have interesting time trying to come up with events to happen. Yet, I would like to thank all of you who review and read this even if I don't update for like... three months? Sorry guys. Even though this is short, I hope you have enjoyed it.


	11. Chapter 11

"My, my, what a little meanie you are."

Jinx really needed to get to the point and he seemed to sense this too because he straightened his posture a bit.

"As for what I am: I am half vampire and half shape-shifter."

He told me this information and I was slightly shocked, but I was currently taking residence with werewolves so I was sort of used to finding out these types of things.

"Ok, what about your name?"

I asked him curiously. I had a feeling this was going to turn into twenty questions, me asking him all the questions and not answering.

"Jinx works just fine."

Well ok… what else could I asked him now?

"Oh, that night where I woke up and then _something_ was on top of me, it's nose near my neck… was that you?"

Jinx grimaced a bit before nodding.

"I got hungry that night. I'm only half vampire, but I still need to drink blood every once in a while. Some other half vampires may not have to, but I'm different since the other half of me is shape-shifter and not human."

That translates into:

"So… half vampire and half human people do not have to drink blood, but half vampire and half shape-shifter need to occasionally?"

Maybe I could hopefully store this information.

"Mostly, but everyone is different."

"Of course..."

Sighing, I leaned back and placed my arms behind me on the bed.

"What are you doing here and why do hang out around me?"

Blunt maybe? Nope, not at all because why would someone like him be hanging around this house and such?

"Jake knows I'm here as well as the others and apparently now so does Anthony. I'm basically just hanging out here until I can move on because those other wolves around here are hunting me down."

Well, he was a bad boy then. I felt stupid now for telling Anthony not to tell people. Those wolves though from that time I traveled into no-man's land, what was their problem? So many questions…

For example, what happened to my family? I would have to find Jake tomorrow and ask him. I loved my family yes, but something was telling me I needed to stay here. Perhaps it was just… the magic that allowed me to be a shape-shifter?

I looked towards Jinx and tilted my head.

"If you're hanging out here then why my room and my bed?"

"Ah you see, that's for me to know only- Jake's orders."

I groaned at this information. Great, this meant I was stuck with a half vampire and half shape-shifter in my room for a while. Oh my goodness… he had seen me in the bathroom when I stripped! I suddenly felt my face grow hot from anger and embarrassment. I was not going to say anything though because maybe, just maybe I could let this slide.

Sighing again, I took a pillow and curled up to sleep the rest of the morning because there seemed to be nothing else better to do. Jinx ended up laying down behind me, but he kept his distance thankfully. A question popped into my head then.

"Jinx…"

"Hm?"

"Why did Anthony… touch me the way he did earlier? Certainly if you are in cohorts with Jake then you know."

"Hormones and territorial things, he's a young boy. He smelled my scent on you when you were laying on top of him on the couch that one time."

Hm, so I was stuck with a territorial and hormonal boy whose hoodie I still had on. No matter, perhaps it was just that one time. I liked Anthony, but I thought of him as a brother to tease and play with. Him doing _that_ earlier was not acceptable.

I liked him as a brother, but if Anthony had done that earlier… territorial and hormonal- did he actually like me more than that?

This was getting all way too confusing so I decided to close my eyes and hopefully get some restful sleep.


	12. Chapter 12

I woke up at around nine this morning and got ready. Layla had apparently gone out to get me some clothes after I told her some of my style and had set out breakfast for everyone.

It was currently eleven in the morning and I was still stuck with the clothes from yesterday. I had Anthony's hoodie still on and Anthony seemed fine today at breakfast. I looked outside and wanted to go out. Would they let me after the run-in with the other pack? I sighed in thought until I felt a presence behind me.

I turned around to see Jake behind me and I smiled up at him in greeting. It was then I remembered I had questions for him. I went to the couch and patted the seat next to me. He followed and sat, leaning back and putting his arm on the back of the couch behind me. I did not mind it since he was not touching me or anything, nor making a move yet.

"You wish to ask me questions, huh?" he asked with a knowing smile.

"Yeah, about my family and such."

I looked up at Jake and the sadness I felt must have shown in my expression.

He sighed and shook his head before answering.

"Your family has been notified that you have say- run away from home, but they know you are in safe care. You might be able to see them again, but I cannot and will not promise anything."

Well at least there was some hope, right? They knew I was safe even though I never would really run away from home like that. I sighed again and slumped into the couch, my tilting up and resting on Jake's arm now.

"What about schooling?" I just had to ask.

"What about it? You'll be homeschooled just like the rest of the young ones here."

Gee great, but it could not be that bad.

"Why haven't I been 'in school' then?"

"The tutor is ill for now, but when they recover they will be back."

I just nodded and sat silently for a moment before I remembered about the point where I wanted to go outside.

"Jake, can I go outside?" I asked tentatively, not sure if he would say yes.

He looked down at me to study me for a moment, but I did not look away from his eyes.

"Yes, I'll go get John and tell him to meet you outside."

He said… yes! My jaw dropped and I bounced up and down on the couch.

"Thank you, thank you!" I told him before taking off to go outside.

* * *

AN:

Short, short, shhh! I know! Trust me though, something else is coming up.


	13. Chapter 13

I stood outside, waiting for John, my black pelt ruffling in the small breeze. My nose was to the air, taking in the different scents and enjoying fresh air. My ears stood forward and occasionally would flick towards a sound.

I looked towards my right to see brown eyes and gray fur- a wolf- John! I yipped my surprise before nuzzling him in the neck. I took off then and heard John running behind me. I kept running and went into the woods, dodging trees and watching for the no man's land.

"Stop!" John barked at me suddenly and I skidded from my run only to turn tail and trot up towards him.

"_What, what's wrong?"_

"_Something isn't right."_

Through a low growl, John confirmed to me that something was not right and I took his words for it.

"_I need you to start walking back to the house and if you hear something, ignore it and keep going."_

"_You're joking…"_

"_Go!"_ He barked at me and bit me.

I whined and stumbled into a long stride to head back to the house. I followed the correct scents and did not look back. Something snapped to my right, but I kept going since I figured it was John and after all, it was what he wanted me to do.

I heard a snap again and then a growl and 'bam'!

I was pushed aside and looked to my right to see John and another wolf snarling and fighting with each other.

"_Run, Keira!"_

I whined, but ran back towards the house, following the scent paths and hearing the growling, howls of pain, and fighting behind me. Was John going to make it out of there? I wanted to go back and help, but I knew I was just too inexperienced and I would only get in his way.

The trees suddenly broke away as I ran up to the house in my wolf form, morphing back as I ran up to the porch and opened the door. I was crying, tears flowing freely down my cheeks. Others started to gather around me as I desperately tried to tell them about John through gasps of breaths and choking sobs.

Soon Jake, Luke, and Anthony had set off to aid John while Jinx and Layla made sure Wyatt stayed behind. Wyatt was just too young to go off risking his life. Soon Wyatt had changed and assumed his wolf form, making me do that same even through my tears so that I could help hold him back.

I managed to tackle him to the ground, holding him pinned underneath me until he calmed down.

We moved towards the family room in our wolf form which Layla did not seem to mind having probably been used to it and Jinx just began chatting quietly with her.

I sat and watched as Wyatt paced back and forth before finally giving up and lying down. Soon he was asleep and I was too exhausted from the fright and crying to change back, so I curled up next to him.

Something was warm next to my side and moving- breathing. I didn't open my eyes, for by scent I realized it was Wyatt and then Jake entered the room, followed by Luke, and then Anthony. They were bloody in their human forms with their clothes ripped in various places. I jumped up, changing to my own human form when Jake nodded to me.

Wyatt woke up then and changed back, curling up into my side and I put my arm around him. I looked at the boys again as I swallowed a lump in my throat.

"Where is John?" I whispered, fearing I already knew the answer.

A heavy silence loomed over us then, no light coming from the windows, as it had grown dark.

Jake shook his head, his face grim and looking so many years older than what he was. Anthony was breathing heavily, but silently. Luke seemed a bit indifferent, but he kept looking at the ground and I was sure that if I could see his face it would hold such sorrow.

"We lost him," began Jake and he paused to see if Wyatt or I would speak. We were silent though and waited for him to continue.

"The wolves from before ambushed him and by the time we arrived there, John was already fighting one as the other two turned to us. We fought and killed the two, but the leader that John was fighting and John himself had disappeared by the time we were done. We tried looking for them, but nobody could pick up a scent that lasted."

Jake spoke in a solemn, but firm tone as he explained to all of us who did not know, what exactly happened. I glanced toward Anthony to see him glaring at Jinx who had moved to stand and watched as Anthony left after receiving some sort of private permission in the form of a nod from Jake.

"We're all going to get cleaned up. Layla, please have something warm for dinner ready when we're done. Wyatt, come with me."

This time Jake had given orders and those who did not have orders stayed behind. It was only Jinx and I left, but I followed behind Jake and headed to my room. Naturally, Jinx followed behind me and when I sat on the bed, he shut the door. So much had happened; John was gone. John was the beta of the pack, wasn't he? So that meant Luke was now Beta and second in command. But then I remembered something Jinx had told me.

"It was you, you said they were after you- why you? This is your fault!"

I spoke in hushed rage and pointed a finger towards Jinx where he was still positioned at the door. He shook his head and reached for something at his neck before taking off something I had not seen before. He held it out before him and walked towards the bed. I took it as he sat down next to me and looked at the end. Some type of pendent no- amulet was hanging off it.

"This is what I stole from them. This belongs to one of the werewolf royals. Jake knows this and I happen to work for the royals."

He had began to explain it, but I didn't let him continue.

"All of this is for some stupid amulet?"

"Yes, but it is a strange world, is it not?"

I hated it when he answered and attached another question to it. I put the necklace in my palm and held it out for Jinx to take it again.

A sudden knock came from the door and I told whoever it was that it was unlocked. Luke stepped in and told Jinx that Jake wanted to see him. I didn't look at Jinx as he left, but rather looked at Luke.

"Luke…" I called out softly before he could shut the door again and go off somewhere.

"Yes?"

"Why?"

"Sometimes, things cannot be explained."

I sighed and laid back gently on my bed to stare at the ceiling of the dimly lit room. Dinner would be ready soon and I could eat, shower, and sleep. Hopefully sleep would gift me with a break from this nightmare.


	14. Chapter 14

Dinner was a solemn matter and I hardly ate. Everyone was quiet and the only sounds that could be heard were the scrapings of the dinner utensils on the plates. The only thing I consumed was the class of water Layla had gotten me. I hardly touched the food on my plate. I just did not feel hungry. If I were to guess why I was not hungry, I would say it was the depression from having lost someone. All the guys ate however and I suppose they had to since (from what I have read) their metabolism is higher due to the whole werewolf-factor.

One by one they all left the table and eventually it was only Layla and I. Jinx had not even shown up for dinner. Then again, I didn't even know if he ate human food since he was at least half-vampire. I looked towards Layla, sighed, and excused myself from the dinner table. I had offered earlier to help clean the dishes, but she refused the help.

I ended up taking advantage of the bathroom and made myself a bubble-bath, hoping it would help me relax. The water was hot when I first got in and started washing myself, but now it had grown cool. Time was lost to me, as I did not know just exactly how much time I had spent in the tub. I was done however and the cool water served no purpose to help me, so I went ahead and got out.

Using the towel I had set out before I got in, I dried and then wrapped my hair in the towel to help dry it. Right after setting my hair, I put the pajamas on that I had taken from my room before going to the bathroom. Now back to the hair. I let it down and used the towel to further towel-dry my hair. It was still damp, but dryer from before and would not bug me, so I left my hair down.

I hung the towel back up to dry, made sure everything was off, and made my way back to my room. I placed my hand on the knob to my door to turn it and pushed it open as a hand was soon placed over mine and a body quickly pushed me into the room. I stumbled inside, but regained my balance and turned in time to see the person shutting the door behind them.

"Jinx?" I asked, only seeing the back of the person.

They soon turned around and before my eyes was certainly none other than Jinx. He placed a finger to his lips with one hand and locked the door using the other. It was at this moment that I frowned. What was with him?

"Please…" he whispered and my expression grew confused.

"What? And why weren't you at dinner?" I asked him and grew a little angry at him since he was not there with everybody at dinner.

He did not answer and only stared intently at me while I glared right back, my frown turned into a scowl. Then it clicked. He was half-vampire and not at dinner, he was… hungry? Something close to recognition must have flashed across my face because soon, his expression grew hopeful as he stared at me.

"Oh God… you're hungry," I said, not bothering to whisper like he had and backed up, placing my hands out in front of me.

I watched him with wide eyes as he stalked forward and with the steady rate of which the distance between him and I was decreasing, I stepped back. My legs eventually hit the edge of my bed and I could no longer take a step back for every one that he took towards me. Slowly he approached me and placed his hands on either side of my waist. Only a few rays of the yet to fully set sun illuminated my room enough to make out some of the details and so far, it was enough to make out Jinx's figure in front of me.

His fingers slowly started kneading the skin at my waist as my attention went to his eyes instead of trying to avoid him by looking past him to the wall. If he wanted my attention, he definitely had it now.

I looked into those eyes what I saw almost made me break. Bags were underneath those eyes of his and they seemed even darker than the shadows around my room. It was like an endless pit of sorrow, pain, and even in those eyes I could detect a sense of desperate needing.

"Please," he whispered again in a strained voice as he brought his face closer to mine.

I let out a small squeak of a whimper and closed my eyes and gave in to him. As soon as the sound left me and titled my head to the side, his mouth was over my throat.

His mouth was open, I could feel it, but I felt his parted lips and nothing else. Soon his tongue pressed against the flesh of my throat and I took in a shaky breath. His tongue stroked over my skin with the expertise of an artist's brush. I don't know how long that lasted, as soon the feeling of teeth being pressed against my skin made me squint my eyes harder. I was scared; there was no denying that.

Quickly, sharp teeth penetrated my skin and I choked on a scream. Despite the pain, it was too much to scream and just the thought of screaming made me think that it would make the pain in my neck worse. Tears brimmed and spilled down my cheeks at the pain. It was going to bruise and bruise badly, but I couldn't think of it anymore and felt my body give out on me.

I was surrounded by darkness and felt like I was drifting between the dream world and reality. Dreams were not supposed to hurt though I thought… Perhaps I was waking up from when I had fallen asleep. I become more aware of my surroundings as the seconds ticked by. I was underneath the covers of my bed and soon I was shivering as I recalled what had happened.

I was shivering, but whether from fear or being cold, I did not know. Perhaps it was the fear making me feel cold. A name popped into my head soon after the shivering began… Jinx! Just where exactly was he now?


End file.
